Kuala Lumpur – the surprise of Asia

​The next stop on our journey was KL the capital city of Malaysia! Absolutely loved this city, it’s a big call but I’m going to say this is my favourite city we’ve been to in Asia. Small enough to get around, it’s clean, doesn’t smell like wee and it’s super cheap! Our hotel was right in the centre of Petaling street which sold a knock off version of everything you could imagine, that’s presents for everyone back home sorted! We even extended our stay for a couple of nights so we could fit everything in.

We were lucky enough to bump into Tim, who we’d met at a hostel in Bangkok and who had also lived in KL for 6 months, the perfect tour guide. He was a particular champion of the shopping mall experience, normally whilst we’ve been traveling we haven’t given shopping malls a second look but here they’re big business! Each mall has its own food court which has literally everything imaginable you would want to eat, the curries you could get for £2 were phenomenal. These malls are a different level to those back home, they put the Trafford Centre to shame. One of the malls we went to had 10 floors and an actual roller coaster, with loop the loop, on the 5th floor!

We didn’t just see the malls though, Tim was also partial to a bit of running and they have some really nice parks over here. The KLCC park happened to be just outside the Petronas twin towers and they’re a pretty impressive sight to behold. They were the tallest buildings in the world up until Dubai took there crown so they’re a pretty cool landmark to run next to. In the park they’ve actually built a running track to follow so it was nice to do laps with the many other runners in KL. We went there two evenings in a row and treated ourselves to some tasty mall food afterwards!

For our morning we run we headed over to the Botanical gardens, beautiful place to run around with a deer park, a bird park and a butterfly park. We managed a leisurely 10k but running in 30 degree heat really takes it out of you! I’m loving Asia but I can’t wait to get to Oz to get some less humid air back in my life!

To top an active week off, I even went to a local Malaysian bootcamp. We’d had drinks with Carly, a fellow northern girl who worked in KL who went every week. So despite the fact it started at 6:30am, to prove the boys wrong (they said I wouldn’t make it) I dragged my sleepy self across town at the crack of dawn to get my fit on! I felt completely safe the whole time in KL so I had no qualms about riding the metro over there at 6 am, I was beginning to feel like a local myself! But I did have an issue that the metro stop dropped off inside a mall which was closed at that time. It took me forever to wander round the different floors until I finally found an exit! Still I made it to the park for the start of class! Lots of crawling around, jumping and squatting in a muddy field, a bit intense for that time in the morning but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

One thing you notice on the bus down to KL is how green Malaysia is! All the roads seemed to be lined with dense green forests and even in the city centre there’s still a green feel to the place. We stumbled across a forest actually in the centre of the city, there was even a canopy walk high in the trees so you could appreciate the scale of the city. It wasn’t advertised on TripAdvisor or on Google maps so it was completely empty. Pretty nice to be able to escape the buzz of the city in a private jungle for a while!

Other things we got up to included a trip to the cinema, just £2 a ticket and £2 for large popcorn and drink, unbelievable Jeff! Also went for drinks in a glass box bar in the middle of the street, had the world’s nicest Indian and did lots of shopping. It might not be be my birthday yet but I’ve already spent my birthday money, it gets me more over here than it will in Oz! Rob also decided he needed a million new pairs of shoes so we’ve now had to commit the cardinal sin of backpacking, we’ve bought a suitcase!! Not proud to admit it but I’ve stuffed my bag inside the suitcase and I’m now wheeling my way around the world. Shame on us I know.

Thoroughly enjoyed our time in KL, Malaysia is surprising me more and more every day. KL has such a good mix of modern stuff and cool old buildings, definitely recommend a visit if anyone’s in Asia! Just make sure you’ve got enough room in your bag for all the rubbish you’ll end up buying!